Multicystic syringomyelia treated with a single, non-valved syringoperitoneal shunt: fast and near-complete MRI normalization

Abstract

Four patients with multi-cystic syringomyelia were treated by a single, non-valved syringoperitoneal shunt. In all the patients, the cavitations were separated by a segment of apparently normal cord. In two of the patients, the cavitations also contained multiple transverse septa. In three patients the shunt was inserted in the most caudal cavitation, causing the shunted compartment to collapse, usually within a few weeks. The width of the more cranial cavitations normalized on postoperative MRI scans over several months. This was the case also in one patient where the most cranial cavitation was shunted. No complications or side effects were observed that could be attributed to the use of a non-valved shunt.